Pittsburgh city Councilman Ricky Burgess on Thursday said he'll continue pushing for passage of his living wage bill, saying it's unfair for government to "profit on the misery of the people who work for us."

A brief hearing on the bill Thursday drew support from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 23, the Black Political Empowerment Project, Pittsburgh United and the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network.

The bill would require the city controller's office to set the wage annually based on cost-of-living factors, and it's designed to set a higher floor for city employees and employees of companies doing business with the city.

Right now, the living wage would be about $11.50 an hour, Mr. Burgess said. In comparison, the federally set minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

"I don't know how anybody lives on minimum wage in this day and age," B-PEP Chairman Tim Stevens said.

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